Cloth-measuring machine.



H. L. BROWN.

CLOTH MEASUHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. 26. I9I7.

1,888,888. I Patented nec. 24,1918.

3* SHEETS-SHEET l.

Witnesses H. L. BROWN.

CLOTH MEASURING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. 26.'19I7.

Patented Dec. 24, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Witnesses H. L. BROWN.

CLOTH MEASURING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT.2s.19\7.

Patented Dec. 24,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Inventory Attorneys ,nu uns r9.. rnmuma. msnmanm. u c.

HOUSTON LEE BROWN, OF ST.'PAUL, VIRGINIA.

"' CLOTH-MEASURING MACHINE.

Specification vof Letters 'Patent Iatented Dec. 24,1918.

' IVApplication led October '26,l 1917. lSerial No.1 198,690.

' l'. if To-:a'ZZ whom t may concern.'

lr Befitknownfthat I, HOUSTON Lun BROWN, gafcitizen `of thev UnitedvStates, residing at St Paul, in the county of Wise and State ofVirginia, have invented a new and useful A ClothMeasuringMachine,ofwhich the fol` lowing is a: specification.

The present inventionrelates to a machine for winding up: and measuringcloth or lengths of other flexible material, and 4aims fftorprovide'al-novel and improved'applianc'e' 1. .of'that character'for holding abolt of cloth,

-- 1 fmeasuringthe' cloth `unwound from the bolt,

and winding the'same up. "y Another vobject'of the invention is theprolvision of a-'novel and improved registeringl fi-mechanism forindicating the. length'of cloth -nwound up.

use in-invoicing-or taking inventory.

"With the foregoing andy otherv objects in view vwhichv 'will appear asthe description proceeds, the invention resides inthe -co1nbi-'- nationand-'arrangement of' parts and in the detailsof construction hereinafterdescribed fand claimed, Eit being understood that A.30 the-'scope'offwhat is claimed, without de- '.lwfpartin-gV from the spirit of theinvention.

7 The" invention is'illustrated in' they accomrw .xpanyingdrawinga'wherein- Figure 1 is-a planview'of the machine. i al Fig. 2 is aside-elevation thereof.

1' Fig. `3 is a perspective of the winding reel.

Fig. 4 is a view of the invoicing device.

` Fig. 5 is'another view thereof looking at 1 Cright angles to the lineof view in Fig. 4.

402i Fig. 6 is? an elevation of the register, th 2. casing being .shownin section.

. 'I Fig.-7 is a plan view ofsaid register, por- --tions being shown'insection.

anism.

{aF-ig. 91ispaperspective view'of-a portion .f ofoneendl of theI reelandl showing the ffwcrossed members-separated.

fir- Fig. 110 lis'an elevation ofthe lower pore501 'tion 'of-one of thestandards, vthatp'ortion of 1;. 51 transverse-basket or concaved,receptacle 2 yfri.stillfurth'er object of theinvention is:'theprovision of'a-novel winding device for Y "f'ventionfh'erein'disclosed can be made within f each clasp being fastened to the reel.Fig. 8 isa detail view ofy theregister mechj '2 the basa engaged-therebyvbeing shown in n for holding the bolt3 of cloth fromwhich the lmaterialis to be taken. An inclined frame 4 carried by the base supports fatransverse 'roller 5 overthebasket orfreceptacle 2,

for the passage ofthe cloth 6 upwardly from vthe bolt-3V over saidroller 5 to a transverse measuring wheely 7 .whose shaft 8 -is journaledin standards 9 carried by the base.

The longitudinal bars of the wheel 7 are provided with 'rubber teeth orspurs 10 for the engagement of the cloth, to assure of the the movementofy said* wheel lby the cloth which passes over the-wheel; vArms 11 pivfotedtothe frame 4 carry-a-pressure vroller 12 which bears onlthe: cloth,between the-roller 5 and'uwheel 7, thus holding thel clothunder"tension, and'causingit to bearon the VVwheel 7V with-suiiicienttension.

` The transverse reel 13 is employed lat said end ofthe machineoppositeto the receptacle 3, for winding up the cloth, and this reel is carriedby a shaft 14, one terminal of which is inserted in an aperture in arevoluble standard l'carried bythe base. rIl'he other end of the shaft14 is of square or nonscircularform, as at 16, to fit in a correspondingsocket 17 carried bythe crank 18 journaled in a resilient standardl9fmounted on the base opposite-to the standard 15.. A bowed spring 20is located at the opposite end of the reel 13 to bear against the reelfor the purpose hereinafter pointed out. To remove the reel, thestandard 19, which has a handle 19',l is sprung laterally so that thesocket 17 is moved away from shaft 14. Standard 15 is then rotated andthe shaft14 can the-n be withdrawn from said standard 15.

In order toattach the end of the cloth to the reel 13, spring clasps 21are carried by one longitudinal bar of the reel, said clasps being y'ofordinary construction, and comprising pivotally yconnected jaws, one jaw(f longitudinal shaft '22 is carried by the reel adjacent to `theclasps, and has ..fingers 23 -to-engage the-loose jaws of the clasps foropening them to receive the cloth. `The shaft 22 has a handle 24 at oneend for turning it, and has a ratchet wheel'25 near said end to bey engaed by a pawl 26 carried by the reel, where y toyhold the clasps open. Byreleasingthe pawl 26, `this releases the clasps which will close on theend of 'the .'cloth to carry it with the reel.

- The standards 15 and 19 of thewinding device are carried 4'by a looseleaf 27 of the `t into the socket 17 of the crank.

base, hinged, as at 28. Thus, when the cloth is applied to the machinewith its end placed on the uppermost party of the wheel 7, the

leaf 27 can be raised to move the reel 13 adp jacent to the upperportion of the wheel 7, bringing the clasps 21 in position to vreceivethe end of the cloth. Then, by swinging the leaf 27 back into place, thecloth is moved over the lwheel 7, thus starting the rotation thereof,after which, the leaf' 27 being in place, the `reel 13 is rotated byhand for' windingl the cloth thereon.

F or use in invoicing or when taking inventory, there is used a holder29 for the. card or board 30 for rebolting the cloth.`

`This holder 29 comprises the bars 31 hinged at one end, as at 32, to ablock 33 having ay trunnion 34 to be inserted into the standard 15 afterthe reel 13 and'its shaft 14 have `been removed. The free ends'of thebars 31 they can be swung apart to receive the board 30, and then byswinging said bars together, they clamp the board therebetween, and saidbars are held together by fitting the beveled ends thereof in the slot36 of the block 37, and tightening the set screw 39. Then, when thecrank is rotated, it will rotate the board 30 to wind the cloth thereonto rebolt the same, and obtain the linear measurement of the cloth. Whenthe bars 31 are held by the block or clamp 37, they cannot swingrelatively -to the block 33,`

since relative longitudinal movement between the bars 31y is prevented.After the cloth has been wound on the board 30, the rebolting orinvoicing device canbe removed, and the board 30, with the cloth woundthereon is slipped ofi1 of: the bars 31, leaving the bars and block 37intact. The spring '20 holds the members 13 of the reel together. Thesemembers are notched where they cross at oneend of the reel, (see Fig. 9)and normally interfit. When the desired amount of cloth 'is wound on thereel, the outer member 13 lis pressed out against the spring and thenturned so as to lie parallel with the other member 13of the reel. Thusthe cloth will collapse into a foldl as though hanging on a line.

Coming to the registering "mechanism, the

same embodies a casing 40 mounted lon the base, and spools` or drums 41and 42 are mounted for rotation therein and having a ribbon orv tape 43thereonsuitably graduated, there being an' aperture or'opening 44 in.the casing 40 to expose the graduations of the tape in succession, forindicatlng the lengthv of cloth which has passed over the measuringwheel 7. Eachnof the i drums 41 and 42 is spring pressed, said drumshaving the respective spiral springs 45 and 46 therein tending to rotateeach of said drums to wind the tape thereon, but the spring 45 is ofgreater ytension thanv the spring 46 so that when the mechanism isreleased, the

. tape willbe' wound on the drum 41. The

is rotated. v 1

"The register advancing means includes members 51 carried'bythatstandard9adjacent to the register, and'leafA springs 52 terminallysecured to said members and-,car-

rying between their ends, ablock 534throu`gh which alever 54 extends andisipivoted, as

at 55. A stop 56 is carried bythe standard 9 for the contact of' onearm'ofthe lever 54, which is provided with 'anotch 57 normally movedawayfrom the stop-56, thus preventing the movement of the lever 54 counterclockwise, as seen in Fig.l 7, unless the lever 54 is shifted to bringthe notch 57 into linev with the stop 56. Saidsarm of the lever 54 has'a pointedend 58 to engage the teeth 50 ofthe tape 43. The other arm ofthe lever 54 is provided at its end with a cam 59 lying in the path ofmovement of the respectivev spokes of the wheel v7,- and there is a lug60 at the end of thefcam 59. Thus, as each spoke of the wheel 7 movesadjacent to the lever 54, it contacts with the cam 59, thereby slidingthe lever 54foutwardly-'longitudinally thereof, dueto the camact'ion,the springs 52 being caused tobow outwardly.

' This brings the notch 57 into line with the stop 56, and the spoke inengaging the lug 60 will therefore swing the cam end 59 of the lever 54counter clockwise,;as seen inI Fig. 7. This movement of :the lever 54,inthe direction `of the arrow 61, will` first bring the pointed end 58into engagementwith the teeth 50 of the tape, and the pointed end 58 isthen moved toward-the right, as'iseen in Fig. 7, to advance the tape onestep. After the spoke'has passed the lug60`, thespring 52 will retractthe lever from the.tape,: and the pawl 48 .in engaging the ratchet wheelv47, will hold the tape wound on the drum 42. This tape is of steel orother suitable metal, whereby it will be advanced fb'y the lever 54against the tension of they spring 45, the spring 46 serving to wind theslackened portion ,of the tape onto the "drum 42. Thus,\as the clothpasses over` the measuring wheel v7, the Atape 43 is advanced. step bystep, and 'by observing the graduations on the tape through the opening44, the operator can note the amount of material wound up. When thedesired amount of material has been wound up, the material can be cut intwo at the top of the measuring wheel by a shears, knife or othersuitable implement. To clear the register, the plunger 49 is pushed,thereby releasing the pawl 48, and permitting the spring 45 to wind thetape back onto the drum 41. The tape 43 is advanced one step by theengagement of each spoke of the wheel 7 with the lever 54, and thegraduations on the tape correspond to the spacing of the spokes of themeasuring Wheel at the periphery thereof, as will be apparent.

Having thus described the invention, is -claimed is 1. A cloth measuringmachine including a hollow container for a bolt of cloth, a measuringwheel having longitudinal bars, flexible cloth engaging teethoutstanding from the bars, a vwinding reel, a roller for supportingcloth passing from the receptacle what ' or container, and a pressureroller for bearing on the cloth between the supporting roller and Athewheel.

2. A cloth measuring machine embodying a base'having a hinged leaf, ameasuring wheel carried by the base, and winding means carried by saidleaf to be swung adjacent to the measuring wheel for the attachment ofthe end of the cloth.

3. In a cloth measuring machine a base, a revoluble standard mounted onthe base, a. second standard adapted to flex laterally, a shaftsupported by one standard, an actuating crank journaled in the otherstandard and detachably engaging one end of the shaft, and a reel uponthe shaft.

4. In a cloth measuring machine, a rebolting device embodying a holdercomprising a block, a pair of bars each hinged independently at one endto said block, the other ends of the bars being beveled, a second blockhaving a tapered slot to receive said beveled ends ofthe bars, meanscarried by the second mentioned block for clamping the bars there-Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents in, and means formounting the said blocks for rotation.

5. A measuring machine embodying a measuring wheel, a register, a levernormally disengaged from the register, means for preventing the leverfrom swinging until moved into engagement with the register, and saidlever having means whereby the wheel in engaging the lever first movesthe lever into engagement with the register and then swings the lever toadvance the register.

6. A measuring machine embodying a measuring wheel, a register, aregister advancing lever, means for mounting said lever for longitudinaland swinging movements and for normally retracting the lever from theregister by longitudinal movement of said lever, and means to preventthe lever from swinging to advance the register until the lever is movedlongitudinally into engagement with the register, the lever having a camfor the engagement by portions of said wheel, to move the leverlongitudinally into engagement with the register and having means forswinging the lever by said portions of the wheel after the lever ismoved into engagement with the register.

7. A measuring machine embodying a measuring wheel, a pair or drums, agradaated tape carried by said drums to be wound thereon, a spring fornormally winding the tape on one drum, a spring weaker than said springfor winding the tape on the other drum, means for preventing theunwinding of the tape from the second mentioned drum, releasable tobring the first mentioned spring into action for winding the tape on thefirst mentioned drum and the tape having teeth, and advancing meansoperated by the wheel for movement into engagement with said teeth toadvance the tape.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixedmy signature in the p-resence of two witnesses.

HOUSTON LEE BROWN.

Witnesses:

FELIX W. DICKINSON, C. B. HARWELL, Jr.

each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

